Container

ABSTRACT

A container, including a hollow body with a bottom wall. The hollow body defines an opening opposite the bottom wall. The container also includes a lid, which removeably cooperates with the opening in the hollow body. The lid has a sealing member and a decorative member fixed to the sealing member. The decorative member is a sports-related item.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] application claims the benefit of United States ProvisionalApplication Serial No. 60/250,788, filed Dec. 1, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INTENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to containers, and, in particular,to sports-related containers.

[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0005] Containers can be used to hold a variety of items and materials.In order to fully “contain” these items or materials, many containersare provided with a cap or lid. Together, the lid and container providesecure containment of the item. For example, it is well-known in the artto provide the consumer with a candle in a glass jar with a lid. In thismanner, the consumer can utilize the candle (e.g., a scented candle)when the lid is removed, allowing both light and scent to escape fromthe container. Similarly, the lid can be replaced onto the container,disallowing the scent to permeate the room. In addition, once the candleis fully used or spent, the container may be cleaned and utilized forother purposes.

[0006] Sports and sports-related paraphernalia are popular and targetboth males and females of all ages. Regardless of the sport or team (orplayer) that a fan follows, he or she enjoys collecting sports-relateditems directed to his or her chosen sports team or player.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide asports-related container. It is another object of the present inventionto provide a sports-related container for candles. It is a furtherobject of the present invention to provide a sports-related containerdirected to any particular sports fan.

[0008] The present invention is a container which includes a hollow bodywith a bottom wall. This hollow body defines an opening opposite thebottom wall. The present invention further includes a lid whichremovably cooperates with the opening in the hollow body. This lid has asealing member and a decorative member fixed to that sealing member. Thedecorative member, which may be used as a cover and/or a handle, is asports-related item, such as a hockey puck.

[0009] The present invention, both as to its construction and its methodof operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof,will best be understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010]FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of acontainer according to the present invention;

[0011]FIG. 2 is a top view of the container in FIG. 1;

[0012]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a containeraccording to the present invention; and

[0013]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a containeraccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The present invention is a container 10 and is illustrated inFIG. 1. The container 10 includes a hollow body 12 with a bottom wall14. Opposite the bottom wall 14, the hollow body 12 defines an opening16. In a preferred embodiment, the hollow body 12 is a substantiallycylindrical structure. However, it is envisioned that the hollow body 12may be rectangular, globular or any other suitable shape having walls tocontain items or materials.

[0015] In the first embodiment of the present invention 10, shown inFIG. 1, the opening 16 on the hollow body 12 terminates in a lip 18.This lip 18 can be used to provide a ridge for grasping and transportingthe container 10. Further, the hollow body 12 can be shaped and sizedaccording to consumer needs and, further, may be constructed from anysuitable material, e.g., glass, plastic, metal, etc.

[0016] The present invention 10 also includes a lid 20 configured toremovably cooperate with the opening 16 of the hollow body 12.Specifically, the lid 20 has a sealing member 22 and a decorative member24. In this embodiment, the sealing member 22 is constructed from aflexible, plastic material and is sized to frictionally engage theopening 16 of the hollow body 12. In addition, the sealing member 22 mayalso have ridges 26, which aid in the frictional engagement of thesealing member 22 with the opening 16.

[0017] The decorative member 24 is fixed or attached to the sealingmember 22. Further, the decorative member 24 is a sports-related item,such as a hockey puck, a miniature hockey puck replica, a miniaturefootball replica, a miniature football helmet replica, a miniaturesoccer ball replica, a baseball, a miniature baseball replica, aminiature baseball helmet replica, a miniature basketball replica, aminiature rugby ball replica, a billiard ball, a miniature billiard ballreplica, a tennis ball, a miniature tennis ball replica, a golf ball, aping pong ball, a shuttlecock, a bocce ball, a miniature bocce ballreplica, a miniature bowling ball replica, a horseshoe, a miniaturehorseshoe replica, a miniature race car replica or a miniature sportsfigurine.

[0018] In this preferred embodiment, a hockey puck 28 is thesports-related item and is attached to the sealing member 22. The hockeypuck 28 may also have a sticker 30 adhered to it, providing the consumerwith visual awareness as to the affiliation of the hockey puck 28 or thecontainer 10. For example, the sticker 30 may have the logo of thelocally-supported hockey team or a label authenticating the hockey puck28 (e.g., “Hockey Puck From Game 3 of 1997 Stanley Cup”). When viewedfrom above, a consumer can view his or her team's sports logo or othervisual indicia on the hockey puck 28.

[0019] The sealing member 22 and decorative member 24 may be attachedtogether using a variety of fixation methods and mechanisms. Forexample, in this embodiment, a screw 32 is inserted through a washer 34and driven through the sealing member 22 into the decorative member 24,in this case, a hockey puck 28. It is also envisioned that othersecuring mechanisms or methods, such as other mechanical fasteners orglue or other adhesive, are also suitable.

[0020] The second embodiment of the present invention 10 is illustratedin FIG. 3. In this embodiment, the lid 20 is inserted into the opening16 of the hollow body 12. The ridges 26 on the sealing member 22 deformagainst the hollow body 12 near the opening 16, which provides bothfrictional engagement and a seal. The decorative member 24, in this casea hockey puck 28, is usable as a handle for removing the lid 20 from thehollow body 12. In this embodiment, the hollow body 12 contains a candle36. Wax and a wick can be directly inserted into the hollow body 12,forming a solid wax substrate (or candle 36) directly against innerwalls of the hollow body 12. It is also envisioned that a separatelyformed candle 36 may be inserted into the hollow body 12. Using aseparately inserted candle 36 would allow the consumer to remove andreplace different types of candles 36, without first having to totallyuse the candle 36 placed in the hollow body 12.

[0021] In this second embodiment of the present invention 10, theaforementioned sticker 30 with the sports logo displaced thereon, canalso be attached to the side of the hollow body 12. In attaching thesticker 30 to the side of the hollow body 12, the consumer can view thesports logo of the container 10 from all angles.

[0022] A third embodiment of the present invention 10 is illustrated inFIG. 4. This embodiment uses the same hollow body 12 and lid 20 of theprevious embodiments. However, in this third embodiment, the hockey puck28 is replaced with another decorative member 24. As seen in FIG. 4, thedecorative member 24 of this embodiment is a miniature baseball replica38. The miniature baseball replica 38 is, as before, fixed directly tothe sealing member 22. Further, multiple stickers 30 containing thesports logo are attached to the sides of the miniature baseball replica38. The sealing member 22 of the present embodiment may have a rigidface 40, providing the sealing member 22 and the decorative member 24with added strength and support. As with the hockey puck 28, theminiature baseball replica 38 is attached to the sealing member 22 andmay be used as a handle to remove the lid 20 from the hollow body 12.

[0023] The preferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes anactual sports item, such as a hockey puck 28 as the gripping portion ofthe lid 20. However, the present invention may be expanded to includereplicas of any sports items, as with the miniature baseball replica 38shown in FIG. 4.

[0024] Overall, the present invention 10 provides a sports-relatedcontainer for holding items or materials, as well as displaying theowner's sports affiliation. The present invention 10 also provides acandle holder which is still useful after the candle is spent.

[0025] This invention has been described as reference to the preferredembodiments. Obvious modifications and alterations will occur to othersupon reading and understanding the proceeding detailed description. Itis intended that the invention be construed as including all suchmodifications and alterations.

I claim:
 1. A container, comprising: a hollow body with a bottom wall,the body defining an opening opposite the bottom wall; and a lidconfigured to removably cooperate with the opening in the hollow body,the lid having a sealing member and a decorative member fixed to thesealing member; wherein the decorative member is one of a hockey puck, aminiature hockey puck replica, a miniature football replica, a miniaturefootball helmet replica, a miniature soccer ball replica, a baseball, aminiature baseball replica, a miniature baseball helmet replica, aminiature basketball replica, a miniature rugby ball replica, a billiardball, a miniature billiard ball replica, a tennis ball, a miniaturetennis ball replica, a golf ball, a ping pong ball, a shuttlecock, abocce ball, a miniature bocce ball replica, a miniature bowling ballreplica, a horseshoe, a miniature horseshoe replica, a miniature racecar replica or a miniature sports figurine.
 2. The container of claim 1,wherein the hollow body is cylindrical.
 3. The container of claim 1,wherein the hollow body is rectangular.
 4. The container of claim 1,wherein the hollow body contains a candle.
 5. The container of claim 1,further comprising a sticker attached to the decorative member.
 6. Thecontainer of claim 1, further comprising a sticker attached to an outerwall of the hollow body.
 7. A lid for a container comprising: a sealingmember configured to removably cooperate with a container opening; and adecorative member fixed to the sealing member; wherein the decorativemember is one of a hockey puck, a miniature hockey puck replica, aminiature football replica, a miniature football helmet replica, aminiature soccer ball replica, a baseball, a miniature baseball replica,a miniature baseball helmet replica, a miniature basketball replica, aminiature rugby ball replica, a billiard ball, a miniature billiard ballreplica, a tennis ball, a miniature tennis ball replica, a golf ball, aping pong ball, a shuttlecock, a bocce ball, a miniature bocce ballreplica, a miniature bowling ball replica, a horseshoe, a miniaturehorseshoe replica, a miniature race car replica or a miniature sportsfigurine.
 8. The container of claim 7, further comprising a stickerattached to the decorative member.
 9. A method of assembling acontainer, comprising the steps of: providing a hollow body with abottom wall, the body defining an opening opposite the bottom wall;providing a sealing member configured to removably cooperate with thebody opening; providing a decorative member; and fixing the decorativemember to the sealing member.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein thehollow body is cylindrical.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein thehollow body is rectangular.
 12. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising the step of inserting a candle into the hollow body.
 13. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising the step of attaching a sticker tothe decorative member.
 14. The method of claim 9, further comprising thestep of attaching a sticker to an outer wall of the hollow body.
 15. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the decorative member is one of a hockeypuck, a miniature hockey puck replica, a miniature football replica, aminiature football helmet replica, a miniature soccer ball replica, abaseball, a miniature baseball replica, a miniature baseball helmetreplica, a miniature basketball replica, a miniature rugby ball replica,a billiard ball, a miniature billiard ball replica, a tennis ball, aminiature tennis ball replica, a golf ball, a ping pong ball, ashuttlecock, a bocce ball, a miniature bocce ball replica, a miniaturebowling ball replica, a horseshoe, a miniature horseshoe replica, aminiature race car replica or a miniature sports figurine.